Cool Crafty Books and Sites

There are a few cool crafty books that have influenced me in the past year, and for my own edification (and the benefit of anyone else who cares), I thought I'd sort of backtrack and see where my year has gone.

I guess it was a little over a year ago that I got into the Bead Fantasies Series by Takako Samejima as well as Beadweaving Brilliance 1&2 by Kumiko Mizuno Ito. I was doing a lot of beadweaving then, especially rings and bracelets, and they were really my first influences. I was pretty much self-taught, so these books were a beacon to me, leading me into a huge new world. Another instrumental book at that time was Mastering Beadwork by Carol Huber Cypher. The projects in that book became the foundations of many of my first few "big" projects, and it is still filled with projects I just haven't gotten to yet.

I guess I kind of got into Polymer Clay without much instruction. I kinda just jumped in with both feet, and maybe forgot my swimsuit! I did get some reference books after some time, however, and one of the most inspirational books is Polymer Clay and Mixed Media (together at last), by Christi Friesen. I had the opportunity to view a demo with Christi at the 2008 Bay Area Bead Extravaganza and get a signed copy of her book, and what she does is truly amazing. I will NEVER get there!

Another book that speaks to me is Beaded Macramé Jewelry by Sherri Haab. I don't know how she does it, but Sherri Haab manages to be amazing at everything she does! She got me into macramé and I'm still hooked! If you haven't tried it, get this book. You'll love it, too.

I kinda went on a "book hiatus" for awhile this year, and let myself be inspired by some of the artists on Etsy. I wish I could point you to the artists who inspired me, but I have forgotten all of their pages by now. A lot of the inspiration I got was for Vintage Jewelry, which is one of my main focuses now, especially work with Vintage Lucite and Antiqued Brass Findings. One person who inspired me, and whose address I can still recall is Milliande on youtube. I don't know how often she updates, but she has enough content on her channel to keep you busy for quite awhile, and everything she does is just so creative.

After my time away from books, I broke down and bought a couple books that were along the same vein as the kind of stuff that Milliande does. She has inspired me. I got Mixed Media Self-Portraits by Cate Coulacos Prato and Taking Flight: Inspiration and Techniques by Kelly Rae Roberts. I haven't really gotten into the Self-Portraits book yet, but Taking Flight is a whole 'nother story! That book is a-maaaaazing! I absolutely adore it. If there's one book on this post that you've got to have, it's this one. The techniques in that book have been a springboard for me and have helped me to do so much in what's become one of my new favorite things to do: Mixed Media Collage.

Since I'm new at Mixed Media Collage now, I don't have many resources, but I do love Artchix Studio and myARTisticlife.typepad.com, as well as digitalcollagesheets.com and www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com.

I'm going to stick to Beading and Mixed Media (along with my other art projects) for awhile, but I did see another book by Sherri Haab that totally intrigued me the other day on Amazon. I got a look inside Felt, Fabric and Fiber Jewelry, and it sounds so cool. I also got a peek at a new release by Sherri that's coming out in March 2010 called, Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations: Techniques and Designs from the Artist's Studio. Looks like another sweet book by Sherri Haab.

So, that was my year, and it also looks like I know where I'm going, at least for the near future. And hey, it looks like between these, and all the other artsy books I bought, Amazon got a lot of my money this year. Well, I guess we both made out like bandits.